Railway gate



Oat. 27 1925.

H. E. HODGSON RAILWAY GATE 3 Sl'xeeizfzwSheetl 1 Fled- Mazjch 15, 1924 TTUHNEY oct. 27, 1925. 'l 1,559,321-

, H. E. HODGSON RAILWAY GATE [med March 15, 1924 s sheets-Sum 2 INI/ENTOR I Ano/mfr Oct. 27, 1925.

l l l l L Filed March 15, 1924 H. E. HoDGsoN l RAILWAY GATE 3 Sheets-Sheet /lwE Ton Z/Mf/ swinging gate opening.

Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

HA-Rnn'ribrz ENsIfEY HonGsoaN, es NEW YORK, Ni Y.

miriam dass.

Apen-ation ined 'Marjon '15, 1924. sei-iai Nol 699,545.

To all whom t may concern.' j

Bo it known that I, Hummm EN'SLEY HoDGsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a residentof New York city, in the county and State of New York, have in` vented new and useful Railway Gate, `or which the oll'owingis a specification.

My invention relatesto railway `gates for protecting road crossings, the object is to provide a very ,strong reliable gate, not likely to' got oid of ing readi'ly'to pressure from the inside while presenting a completo bai-'rior against'roroos exerted from the outside. A further fob'- jec't is to enable the lgate to be operated quickly 'and easily without reliance upon mechani'sInl subject to derangement. 'Still another object is f Provideja horizontally I which tends of itself to stay closed, together with means` for supporting the free end or ends oi the lgate inthe closed position, which lneaisopreferably also exerts a restraiifiing inuence, `not however oi' afpositive character, against `accidental The invention fnrther provides both, or either, positive and non-positive means for hold'n'g lthe gate lopen, kas well as a support for the gato in ,the open posi-Y oioo, wiiioh support preferably constitu-'too ai means for holding the vgate pen, The invention further 'provides a 'strong rodada tion andy bracing structure for the gate. Other objects and yfeatures will beco'meapparent Vas' the specification proceeds.v

In the accompanying drawings, 'forming' a.

part hereofi Y j Fig. 1 is a 'plan view or a doable 'gato oinbodying the'inveiitin;

Fig. 2 is a Afrom elevando looking die same gate from the outer side, that'i's to say from the roadway; v y j,

Figa 3 is a pla-n view on a smaller scale showing 'a railroad crossing with gates at opposite sides; Fig. 4 is 'a gate Oren; Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a lsingle gate; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail front elevation of the adjoining lower pojrtions of a double gate, with portions 'of the fixed structure in section; n

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail side eleva` tion looking at the side of the'par't of the central post seen in Fig. 6, ,portions of the sido elevation, Show/ingoio order, capable of 'yield-.

fixed structure beingbroken away and in section Fig. 8 is asecttio'nafl edge `elevation of a' portion of one of `the side frames,- showing they-lower port-ion Voit one 'of the gates sppvorted in the Open position; Y

Fig. 9 is ajhoriz'ontal section throughfthe oeo'ter port of a modified construction, show;

ing the adjoining lportions of the two 'gates in plan, one closedand V'the other partly open; and 'Y Fig. V10' is a front elevation 'of the lower part of -the'post of this modification, lche gates being indicated by dotted lines.

Figs. l to 4 and 6to illustratela double gate const-ruetion will iirst be described. j

There are two strong :hinge posts 2 'at opposite sides of the roadway, and a Vstrong center post 3 in the middle yof the roadway. These posts are planted yon irm foundations 4, of concrete, concrete and metal, metal or wood, sunk in the ground. The hinge posts are braced longitudinally of the roadmy above ground by Side frames extending in both directions therefrom and preferably comprising inclined members 5, 6, the meinbers 6 of which, at the outer side,` away from the tracks, are vlonger and extend fur?,

ther than the members 5 `at the inner side. The' center post is likewisebraced by' inclined members 7, 8 lextending in both directions centrally of the roadway, these 'ineinbers being firmly bolted or riveted tothe post 4as' indicated at 9. The members 5, 6

and 7 8 are secured at their outer, lower ends to otherblocks or piles 41, and the several posts, their inclined brace members, and the foundation blocks are advantageously interconnected 'and braced atl or below the level of the ryoa( way by a system df intersecting bars I0, :forming a grille, vat the intersections of which may be' additional -toundaftions 4 2. This affords a 'very Vcoinplete system of ground framing,which may,

however, be reduced or simplified to such extent as may be deemed expedient.v

The inclined bracemem-bers 7, 8 for the center post serve the additional purpose or guards for the post, to deflect the wheels of vehicles that tnight otherwise strike the post. j

On the top ,of the center post is a light l1. Thisl is preferably an electric light, but

lwhere electricity is not available pibvisio'n will be made for mounting an oil lantern on the post. Lights could also be placed upon the side posts, but it is particularly desirable to illuminate the center post, both to keep autoinobilists 'from running into it and to furnish a warning signal showing the presence ot' a crossing. The light should he red, or of some other appropriate color or marking.

Two strongly-framed gate members 12, oi metal construction preferably, are hinged to the side posts 2. The hinges, which are marked 13, are at the faces of these posts away from the tracks, and are disposed at a slight inclination to the vertical, the inclination from below upwardly being toward the roadway, and the gates hang at a moderate downward and inward inclination, so that they tend by gravity to remain closed with their free ends against the outer tace ot the center post.

Fixed to or formed on the outer side oi"- the center post, toward the bottom, is a stepsupport or ledge 14- (lTig. 7). This support is preferably made ot an iron bolted to the post; and with advantage may be bent trom the upper end of the inclined brace El. This step support is placed at such height that the bottoms of the gates, at their` adjoining ends, will rest trictionally and with substantial weight upon the step when the gates are closed. For this purpose the fiat plattform surface 15 ot the step is a little above the height at which the gates would hang naturally, so that it is necessary tor the gates in closing to ride slightly up on the terminal incline 16 of the step. The slight play that naturally exists in the hinges or slight give in the gates themselves allows for this, and when the ends of the gates are thus caused to stand frictionally on the support, the gates will resist accidental opening, while being capable of being pushed ott from the inside either by a vehicle or by the watchman. Pressure from the opposite direction however is taken solidly by the posts, the outer faces of which are overlapped by the gates. In order to increase the eect ot' the nonpositive, trictional holding of the gates in closed position the platform surface 15 may with advantage be inclined slightly downward from a high point 17 toward the post, so that the gate has to rise slightly in order to be pushed oil' the support. The lower corners 18 of the gates which cooperate with the step are cut at such angle to the general inclination ot the gates in the closed position as to be substantially horizontal.

Similar step supports 19 (Fig. 8) are secured to the side trame members 8 to support and hold the gates in the open position. 'Ihese steps have inclined ride-up lips 20, a platform support 21, and a high point 22, which may be more pronounced than in the case of the step 14, so as to require the attendant to exert a moderate lifting eiort on the gates betorethey can be treed from the steps.

The gates are also preferably provided at their outer sides with hooks 9.3 adapted to engage with suitable eyes 24k on the sidetranies 6. rIhese tastenings may be used for extra security in keeping the gates open, but time can be saved if the steps 19 alone are relied upon. It is desirable to make the positions ot' the hooks noticeable by prominently marking the spots 25 on the gates where they are placed, tor example a white spot on a red or otherwise colored gate, so that the astenings can be readily found at night.

Handles 26 are provided on the inner sides ot the gates for convenience in closing them.

The modification illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 relates to the center post and its step support. The post is marked 3u. In this :t'orm the ends ot the gate, instead of overlapping the body otl the post, laterally abut extension wings 30 formed on or secured to opposite sides oi' the body. These stop wings may be in the form ot angle-irons as shown bolted through the post at 31. The step support is divided in two, its two parts 14.a being also at opposite sides of the post. These steps may be formed or attached in various ways, and can advantageously be Yformed in one piece with or secured to the lower ends of the wings 30. In essential construction and principle of operation the divided step is like the single step on. the outer tace. of the post, which has been described.

F ig. 5 illustrates a single gate embodying features similar to those ot the double gate. While the double gate is preferred for general purposes, the single gate .may be used with advantage in some cases, as on narrow roads. y

The hinge post 2b is located at one side ot the roadway, and the abutment post 3b at the opposite side. The gate is swung at an inclination as in the other construction and cooperates with a step support 14th on the post 3b, while another step support 19b serves to hold the gate open. Lights 11b are shown upon both posts.

Vfliat I claim as new is:

1. A railway gate comprising a hinge post, an abutment. post, a gate swung at an inclination 'troni said hinge post and having its lower tree corner termed substantially horizontal, and a step support on the abutment post to cooperate with such corner portion of the gate, substantially as described.

2. In a railway gate, hinge posts at opposite sides of the roadway, a central abutment post, laterally swinging gates hung on the hinge posts, and combined brace and guard members for the center post, substantially as described.

I-IARRIETTE ENSLEY HODGSON. 

